Jamie McGuire - Providence

“What?” she asked.

“Nothing. I just love this smell and you look like you just took a whiff of an Oklahoma pig farm. Bringing back harsh memories?”

“Hilarious.” She looked up and a large grin spread across her face.

“And I thought you were going to be a poor sport,” I said, surprised at her expression.

“Hi, Jared,” Beth said, smug.

I flipped around and there he was, standing on the other side of the pump looking just as stunned and elated as I felt.

“This is getting spooky,” Jared said.

“Hi to you, too,” I said, letting my delight to see him show.

“How are classes going?” he asked.

“Good. How’s business?” I smiled. I’m getting better at this, thank God, I thought. I finally felt somewhat normal around him.

“It’s a good day,” he said, smiling his incredible smile. It absolutely was. “That’s a nice car,” he gestured with a nod.

“Thanks.”

One of the few grandiose things my father had purchased for me was my white BMW. He had bought it as a graduation present, and aside from the Peridot and diamond ring he had bought for my sixteenth birthday, it was my most prized possession. Normally I didn’t put much stock in the ostentatious things my father purchased, but this was special; it had been given with the proud-father expression that I relished.

“Going somewhere?” I asked.

“Why?” He cocked his head, confused at my question.

“You look like you’re headed to a hot date or something.”

He laughed. “No…no date. How about you? Anyone forcing strange cuisine on you this evening?”

“I don’t do that for just anyone,” I said, raising an eyebrow. I was impressed with how I sounded, so much braver than I felt.

He beamed. “Is that so?”

I pulled my receipt from the gas pump and looked at Beth, who pretended not to watch. He walked over to me, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“How would you like to put that to the test, then?” he asked.

“Is that a challenge or are you asking me to dinner?” I prompted, looking him square in the eye. I didn’t know where my sudden courage and sass came from, but it was less humiliating than the gaucheness I demonstrated the last two times I had seen him.

“Both,” he smiled. He leaned against my car, just inches from me. I tried to seem relaxed, although my heart was pounding in my chest over his proximity.

My face twisted into a frown as I realized my dilemma. “I have study group tonight.”

He didn’t look ruffled, to my chagrin. “Maybe next time.”

He walked back to his Escalade and left without another word. I flipped around to Beth and she ducked into the passenger side. The door slammed behind me as I sat next to her.

“What was that?” Beth asked.

“I don’t know.”

Beth’s eyes widened in disbelief. “You passed up a date with him for study group? You’ve wanted to run into him for a week!”

“I can’t just break my plans anytime he asks me out. How would that look?” I insisted, frowning at the thought of him thinking I was that accessible.

Beth shrugged. “Who cares?”

I started my car. “Beth! Be serious. He won’t give me his number,” I shoved my gear shift into drive and pulled forward, “and he just shows up out of nowhere and asks me out.”

“You’re nuts! You like him. He asks you out. You tell him no? There is something wrong with you, Nina!”

Back at Andrews, I had to deal with it from both sides.

“What is wrong with you?” Kim shrieked.

“Ugh! Not you, too!”

The smugness on Beth’s face radiated throughout the entire room. “I told you.”

“I have to study. You two are studying tonight,” I reasoned, mostly to myself.

“I wouldn’t if I had a date,” Beth said, crossing her legs on her bed.

“I bet you would if said date asked you ninety minutes before study group,” I rebutted.

“Okay,” Kim said, spreading her arms between us. “Nigh’s right. Prose before bros.”

Beth rolled her eyes as she packed her various study items and I folded my notes and stuffed them into my coat pocket.

Kim snapped her fingers. “Let’s go, ladies. I don’t want to close The Rock down at 2 A.M. like last time.”

We headed to the John D. Rockefeller library, ducking our heads to hide from the bitter wind. Just as we crossed the street, the snow began to fall in large flakes. The dead grass crinkled under our feet as we cut across to save steps. Beth begged us to drive, but Kim insisted we walk so she could smoke.

Beth hooked her arm around mine. “Brown needs to generate some type of small transportation system to get us from here to there more easily. Like a trailer hitched to a four-wheeler.”

“Yes, Oklahoma, let’s hire a hay rack ride. Brown needs culture,” Kim deadpanned.

Beth narrowed her eyes at Kim. “It was just a suggestion. I’m freezing.”

“Don’t listen to Kim, she’s not even wearing a heavy coat,” I said, my teeth beginning to chatter.

“You two are babies, gah!” Kim groaned.

“It does sound like a hay ride,” Beth giggled.

When we arrived, our study group was already waiting on us. Carrie and Tracey — from the basketball team — sat on one couch. On the adjacent couch sat Kim’s friends Justin and Kristi. Lisa, a pre-med student, barely noticed our arrival, and beside her was someone I recognized right away.

Ryan had a head full of dark hair and he was barely taller than I. Because his t-shirt was a bit tight, I noticed his athletic build. His baseball cap was pulled low over his eyes, so I could see only his perfect, white smile, and a deep dimple on his left cheek. The other girls in the group seemed to appreciate his presence.

“Look at you, being all responsible!” Kim said.

“Josh was going to come, but he ended up going on a date,” Ryan explained, pulling up his cap to display his bright green eyes.

“Hmmm,” Kim hummed, angling her neck so I would get the full effect of her accusing expression.

Beth did the same.

Ryan was suddenly uncomfortable, his eyes darting back and forth between the three of us. “What did I say?” he asked.

“Nothing,” I grumbled, shouldering past Beth.

I sat in the chasm between Ryan and Lisa. While everyone discussed their notes and how confused they were, Ryan turned to me.

“Are you taking chemistry? Do you get any of this?” he complained.

“What are you having problems with?” I asked.

He smiled. “You’re not having any problems, are you?”

Feeling caught, I smiled and then erased a line toward the top of his paper. I explained his mistake and started writing it down in my own girlie script. “Do you see how I got there?”

Ryan nodded, still unsure. “I see how you got there, getting there on my own is the persistent problem.”

As the night wore one, I erased quite a bit on Ryan’s paper. We had hundreds of tiny shreds of decimated eraser all over us. His patience and humor made the night go much faster, although I worked on his chemistry and didn’t study the notes I had brought.

“I appreciate you helping me,” Ryan said, folding his paper into his book.

“I’m not sure how much I helped, but you’re welcome. We have study group here twice a week, come anytime.”

Ryan’s face lit up. “I will. Thanks. Uh…some of us guys are going out for drinks this weekend. It’d be cool if you’d come.”

“There are only a handful of places I can get in to.”

Ryan winked at me. “That won’t be a problem.”

It sounded harmless enough. “That sounds fun. I’ll see what the girls are doing.”

Kim looked at her watch and yawned. “Stick a fork in me. I’m done.”